Paul Farr fired behind scandal

Americus attorney Paul Owen Farr was fired as the county attorney by the Sumter County Board of Commissioners during their December 2006 regular monthly meeting for reasons that have not been publicly disclosed. According to county commissioner Al Hurley, Farr was let go because of some inappropriate dealings with the law firm of Barnes, Farr, and NeSmith.

Hurley said that he heard attorney Farr allegedly mishandled a million dollars from his law firm to settle a wrongful death lawsuit with an Albany family when in fact the lawsuit had never been settled or even filed. Hurley further revealed that attorney Farr was supposedly trying to borrow the money from his in-laws in Macon County to repay the money. He checked himself into a medical facility to seek some type of psychiatric help, resulting in his dismissal from the firm and his position as county attorney. He held the position for over five years.

The wrongful death lawsuit in question stems from 57 year old Ginny Crisler who was struck and killed by a speeding car as she was crossing the Hunter's Mill Shopping Center parking lot in Albany, GA on December 14, 2004. Video cameras showed the white Chevy Lumina speeding away after hitting Crisler and there is a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case. Her family is suing the owners (Walden and Kirkland, George Macintosh, and Langdon Flowers) for negligence for not slowing down drivers in their parking lot.

In a search of Dougherty County courthouse records, the Observer discovered documents which revealed that Paul Farr never filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the Crisler family, but his law partner William NeSmith filed the lawsuit on Friday, December 8, 2006, just 2 days before the commissioners had a closed door meeting with senior law partner Judge Russ Barnes. After the meeting the board fired Farr and replaced him with NeSmith as the new county attorney.

Lawyers who spoke with us on the condition of anonymity said that wrongful death lawsuits normally have a two year statute of limitation and with attorney Farr never filing the suit; the firm had no choice but to file to avoid a liability suit from the family and save the firm from further embarrassment.

If the rumors are true attorney Farr could be in serious trouble. According to the State Bar of Georgia, the regulatory agency which supervises attorneys, a lot of things could happen to Farr. He could get a public reprimand, license suspension, or disbarred from ever practicing law again. Many close to the situation seem to think he will be disbarred and possibly face jail time.

Meanwhile, the NAACP is questioning the black commissioners as to why they chose to fire the county attorney without fully investigating the circumstances and explaining to the public the reason for Farr's termination. Dr. John Marshall, president of the local chapter said, "The issue is not whether or not we agree with the board's decision to fire Paul Farr. I can tell you now that we agree with that 100%. They should have fired him over two years ago.

However, we are concerned that only the black commissioners voted to get rid of Farr while Commissioner Brent Williams was conspicuously absent and Commissioner Tift Pace quit coming to the meetings months ahead of time after he lost to Randy Howard. It disturbs me that commissioners Al Hurley and Andrea Brooks are being used to do the dirty work of white people, but we can barely get them to do the clean work of the NAACP which would help advance the cause of their own people" said Marshall.

In developments related to the Farr fiasco, officials of the NAACP are blasting the local media for not reporting the story on Paul Farr. "I asked William Bronson, publisher of the Americus Times Recorder, why his newspaper didn't print anything on the Paul Farr story other than he was replaced and Bronson told me that he had heard the rumors about Paul Farr, but since there was no public record he didn't see the need to publish the story said James L. Bryant Jr., an executive board member of the NAACP.

It's a shame that the daily paper only wrote one line about the entire Farr incident, but can write pages of information about me, Craig Walker, and Dr. Marshall said Bryant. They didn't ask the county why he was fired nor did they inquire with Judge Russ Barnes as to why he kicked Farr out of the firm as a partner. They could have at least interviewed the Crisler family that Mr. Farr supposedly represented, but what else can you expect when Farr and Bronson are hunting buddies said Bryant.

Attorney Paul Farr was contacted by phone and given the opportunity to deny the rumors and he said, “No comment.”
2

Marshall fires back at Murray

Dr. John Marshall, owner and publisher of the Americus Sumter Observer, has responded to a threat by Americus attorney William J. Murray to sue the printer of his newspaper if "Girls Gone Wild" Part 2, an article detailing the attorney's daughter's criminal background, was carried in the December 2006 issue of the paper.

The Americus Sumter Observer recently sat down with Dr. Marshall and interviewed him about the article, attorney Murray, publisher of the Sumter Free Press and the alleged threat. Editors Note: See full context of Marshall's letter to Murray on page 10B.

ASO: Why did you run the "Girls Gone Wild" articles?

Marshall: We got tired of the Times Recorder and other white controlled newspapers printing negative news about our black leaders when they were teenagers many years ago, but fail to print negative news about white leaders and their children.

ASO: What kind of response have you received about the articles?

Marshall: We received a lot of positive response from the "Girls Gone Wild" article. The community seemed very interested in reading about how the Good Ole Boy network operates in Sumter County.

ASO: Why did you delay part 2 of the article?

Marshall: Part two was originally scheduled to appear in our December 2006 issue, but due to the police department's reluctance to give us all the information, it put us too close to the deadline so we decided to wait until this month to give the readers the entire story.

ASO: How did you find out about Murray's threat to sue?

Marshall: I received a phone call from Buddy Judd, owner of Judd Publishing which has been my printer for years. He told me that Mr. Murray called him and threatened to sue him if he printed the story about his (Murray's) daughter.

ASO: Did attorney Murray's threat have anything to do with the delay of part two?

Marshall: The delay of this story had nothing to do with attorney Murray's threat to sue the printer of this newspaper because as you can see, we printed it anyway.

ASO: How did you respond to Mr. Murray's threat?

Marshall: I wrote him a letter confronting him about his threat to sue my printer. I reminded him of the articles he wrote in his newspaper attacking former mayoral candidate James L. Bryant, Jr.’s character in order to help his friend, Barry Blount gain a political advantage. Finally, I advised him of the legal ramifications of interfering with the business relationship I have with my printer.

ASO: How do you feel about the behavior of attorney Murray over the last two years?

Marshall: Mr. Murray's behavior has become very erratic over the last couple of years. I used to have the utmost respect for him until I found out how low down he really was. I just hope he can learn from his mistake when he attacked Bryant and never make that same mistake again.
3

Cover-up suspected in DUI case

Part 2: Attorney's Daughter Cover Up 

Editor's Note: This is the second of a two-part series on "Girls Gone Wild." Part one on Carley Michelle Blount, the daughter of Americus Mayor Barry Blount, appeared in the November 2006 issue that can be viewed online at www.americusumterobserver.com

Jessica Summer Murray's DUI case was dismissed amidst circumstances that NAACP officials call "very suspicious." Jessica, 23, is the daughter of Americus attorney William J. Murray. She was arrested and charged by the Americus Police Department with DUI after an officer smelled alcohol on her during a roadblock.

According to police reports, on September 28, at about 3:14 p.m., while performing a roadside license check, officer Paige T. Selph made contact with Ms. Murray who was driving a white 2003 BMW. "As Ms. Murray exited the vehicle I noted that she was very unsteady on her feet," said Selph. "Her speech was slurred and her eyes were blood shot. Due to her being unsteady on her feet, roadside sobriety checks could not be done for her safety."

The report states that Ms. Murray was arrested and transported to the police department so she could be tested on the Intox 5000. After she was read the implied consent for subjects age 21 and older, Sgt. Robert Philmon tested Ms. Murray on the Breathalyzer machine. The first three tests were incomplete due to insufficient samples. The fourth test resulted in an invalid sample. Sgt. Philmon waited 28 minutes and redid the test with a result of .148 grams. Ms. Murray was processed and released on a property bond.

"Ms. Murray must have really been drunk because a lot of time elapsed after she was stopped, driven to the station, tested five different times, and her results still showed she was over the limit." said James L. Bryant Jr., an executive board member of the NAACP. "I wonder what kind of slick reason her father came up with to get William Rambo, the city prosecutor, to drop the charges? I don't know if it was the fact that he helped Mayor Blount's daughter avoid jail time in her DUI case and the Mayor used his influence to return the favor or if it was his relationship with city attorney Jimmy Skipper, but whatever the reason this is another case of a girl gone wild and it sounds very suspicious to say the least."

"Murray, Blount, and Skipper are all doing these kids more harm than good because this is not the first time nor will it be the last time they will get into trouble as long as they know their fathers can use influence or position to bail them out."  

"We are looking into allegations from reporters at the Americus Sumter Observer that the police department withheld the complete arrest file including the photographs of Jessica Murray as well as Carley Blount so it couldn't be printed in the newspaper," said Dr. John Marshall, President of the Americus Sumter County branch of the NAACP.

"I would like to know from Police Chief Green why is it when blacks and poor whites get into trouble the entire arrest file is available; along with pictures for the Americus Times Recorder to print for the purpose of embarrassment. But when prominent whites and their grown children get into trouble, the police department tells the black owned newspaper that it was within the officer's discretion not to write a full report; or that the camera was broken? This has got to end and we are going to make sure of that."
4

Songs, praises, prayers ring in New Year at annual Gospel Workshop

By Freelancer Millard K. Ives

Bursts of gospel energy propelled their voices to the heavens, shaking the church building into a sanctuary of bliss with music, praises and dance.

The voices from the stage hailed from various denominations and age groups that jump-started the New Year's Eve celebration and show at the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Americus. The celebration was the culmination of several days of hard work by the Americus Area Gospel Music & Cultural Arts Workshop, Inc. The celebration brought together more than six hundred children and adults.

"This is a ministry born in the concept of music and art," said emcee Kelvin Pless. "It was awesome."

This was the 20th Year anniversary of the workshop. Each year in the latter part of December, residents and members from various area churches get together to put on an all-star gospel show of music, praise dance and prayers.

The rehearsal usually takes about four days of rehearsal before the finality takes place on New Year's Eve. "It is a way to bring the whole community together for something good," said Pless, also a gospel deejay for WDEC 94.7.

Performers included the Americgospel Youth Praise Team and the Children's Mass Choir, directed by Sharon Haugabook. Songs included "Lift Every Voice and Sing,"

"I Am God," "I Love You Jesus," and "Let Everything That Has Breath Praise the Lord."

Dance ministries included a praise by Johnna White, mime by Kristin Kinder and Step by Shernone Butts.

Performances by the adult mass choir was directed by Aaron Snipes and included "I May Not Have a Chance anymore," "Going Home Medley," "If You Love Him," "I Won't Go Back," "Shift This Place," "Faithful Is Our God," "I've Got A Reason," "Everyday with Jesus," and "Everybody," written by Rory Edge.

The gospel workshop began in 1986, according to Pless. He said this year's workshop united young and old on the stage and brought back some of the workshop's founding members.  "To see some of the old musicians coming back was the best part for me," Pless said.

This year's theme was "Acknowledging the Past, Serving the Present, & Preparing for the Future."

Final remarks and the benediction were presented by Pastor McCluster as well as Pless.  Members of the children choir are scheduled to perform at the city's Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration this month.